Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) are adapting to digital payments technology at slower speeds and for different reasons than larger enterprises. Cash and checks still account for almost half of all SMB payments, and SMBs have lagged behind other merchants in the U.S. shift to EMV technology.

Development is happening in places besides London and Silicon Valley, and that will give payment companies and financial institutions a wider range of technology solutions and partners, according to Aidan Hayes, senior vice president of financial services and technology for Enterprise Ireland.

With the use of global standards, merchants can also strengthen and consolidate their relationships with vendors and minimize expenditure on hardware and software solutions and maintenance, writes Normand Provost, liaison chair of Nexo.

Businesses are already entering partnerships with some of the biggest players in the Chinese payments market, such as AliPay, and WeChat Pay, with the goal of offering tourists the ease of payments that they are accustomed to, writes Igal Rotem, CEO of Credorax.